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Epic Games v. Apple trial court case Fortnite Tart Tycoon Epic Games credibility is lost, deceit is damaging to a court case

Fortnite Reaches Record Player Peak

The return of Fortniteā€™s original map has gone over like gangbusters, with the battle royale game reaching an unprecedented player peak off the heels of its nostalgic landscape makeover.

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X user Shiina, a hub for Fortnite leaks and news, first shared a chart from Fortniteā€™s publisher Epic Games that boasted a player peak of over 3,300,000 on Nov. 3. Fortniteā€™s official account went on to report even higher numbers the following day, disclosing that Nov. 4 saw ā€œ44.7 million players jumping in and 102 million hours of play.ā€ The post went on to thank players old and new for their contribution to the gameā€™s biggest day to date.

Thanks to its streamlined and vastly accessible Battle Royale mode, it didnā€™t take long for Fortnite to become a sweeping sensation in gaming. In 2018, one year after the gameā€™s launch, Epic Games reported that Fortnite had attracted an audience of 125 million registered players. The gameā€™s meteoric success, especially among a young demographic, even bled into sociopolitical discourse where it served as a catalyst for conversation and litigation about microtransactions and childrenā€™s health. These ongoing conversations – as well as constantly updating maps, pop culture crossovers, and the gameā€™s popularity among streamers ā€“ meant Forniteā€™s moment in the limelight never quite faded.

However, FortniteOG‘s return to the nostalgic aesthetics of the battle royale gameā€™s 2017 origins has amplified the Fortnite phenomena to new heights. The numbers unequivocally prove that a throwback to Fortniteā€™s Season 1 map was the exact move players have been craving.

In the years since Fortnite first exploded onto the scene, the gameā€™s ongoing Seasons have incorporated characters from properties such as Marvel, Star Wars, DC, Naruto and Stranger Things to entice new and old players to stay online for another trip on the Battle Bus. Aside from characters from fictional franchises, the game has also featured collaborations with professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA and Premiere League and celebrities like Ariana Grande and MrBeast to appeal to players. However, none of these crossovers has proven as impactful as ForniteOG, which has skyrocketed the gameā€™s player peak to brand new heights.

RELATED: Check out the Top 40 Rarest Fortnite Skins (Fortnite OG) by Twinfinite


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Tara McCauley
Nerd at large, Tara McCauley's happiest playing or writing about tabletop role playing games. Tara joined The Escapist in October 2023 as a freelance contributor. She covers such TV shows as Fargo and games/fandoms like Dungeons & Dragons. In addition to The Escapist, Tara has gushed about her favorite pop culture topics at CBR, MXDWN, and Monstrous Femme. When she's not writing or rolling dice, Tara can be found catching up on her favorite sitcoms, curled up with a horror comic, or waxing poetic about the WNBA.